Momentum Halted, Giants Fall to D'Backs 7-2

Published Sep 3, 2011 at 9:10 PM

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Ian Kennedy outdueled Tim Lincecum for his 18th victory, Paul Goldschmidt homered and singled in a run and the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 7-2 on Saturday night.

Aaron Hill and Gerardo Parra each hit RBI doubles as Arizona extended its division lead back to six games after losing the series opener Friday night. The reigning World Series champion Giants figure they must win Sunday's series finale to keep alive any chance of defending their division crown and returning to the playoffs.

Kennedy (18-4) became the NL's first 18-game winner and has victories in his last three starts. He allowed one run on five hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked two.

The Giants managed only a pair of sacrifice flies by Pablo Sandoval to back Lincecum (12-12).